Hannah Elliott

Recently, 20^th Century Fox produced a movie based on Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. It was interesting to see this classic book brought to life with some of today’s most successful actors and actresses, such as Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz. However, like most motion pictures based on books, there were several differences between the movie and original book. Some were insignificant and some were significant enough to change big aspects of the book. Even though the plot of the movie followed the book, there were a multitude of differences related to the story line, characters, clues, and murder.

One difference related to the story line was the movie began with a case Poirot solved concerning a stolen relic and three suspected holy men. He exposes the true thief, the policeman, and explains how he put the clues together. This scene never takes place in the book. Poirot also has to take a ferry first before getting on the Orient Express. This is where he meets Mary and Arbuthnot. In the book, these characters board a train instead of a ferry. A love interest is also added to the story. Poirot carries a portrait of a woman to whom he refers as “my sweet Katherine.” This is not explained and is left as a loose end.

One of the most significant differences is the combination of Doctor Constantine and Colonel Arbuthnot. The only character in the movie is Doctor Arbuthnot. This changes the story a little bit because the doctor is not as involved as he is also a suspect. Greta Ohlsson, the Swedish missionary, is replaced by Pilar Estravados, a Spanish missionary and nurse. And lastly, Antonio Foscarelli, the Italian car salesman, is renamed Marquez and is a Latin car salesman. We see suspicion shift from the Italian, like in the book, to Colonel Arbuthnot and Marquez due to race.

The snow drift incident is also altered in the movie to provide more action and setting opportunity. The snow drift causes a very intense derailing of the train. In the book, the whole train is encompassed and no one is able to exit and go outside. In the movie, the characters are stranded but not trapped inside. This allows the suspects to leave the train and Poirot to interview his suspects outdoors. There is also a team of men that come to the rescue to fix the engine in the movie that do not exist in the book.

Poirot also states he has a more personal connection with the Armstrong case as he received a letter from Colonel Armstrong asking for help in solving the kidnapping of his daughter, Daisy. This is connection is not made in the book but is now why Poirot feels obligated to solve the case.

There are also some differences about the murder and clues in the movie. Ratchett asks Poirot to protect him over dessert and threatens him with his gun when he refuses to “watch his back.” The threatening letters written to Ratchett are made with cutout letters instead of being written by multiple people to avoid being traced to one person. He also proceeds to tell Poirot himself about the letters, unlike the book in which MacQueen tells him about the letters. Poirot actually sees the woman in the red kimono after Ratchett is dead, unlike the book where he has to rely on the suspects’ description of her. Poirot is actually the one to find Ratchett dead in his compartment and he tells the whole car about the murder at the same time. Hubbard states she locked her own door and is not sure how the man got in her room and she personally finds and gives the button from the Wagon Lit Conductor uniform to Poirot. Mary is also proven to be left-handed, whereas in the book the only possible lefty is Princess Dragomiroff. The red kimono is found to be inside Poirot’s suitcase not on top, which is odd because everyone at that time locked their suitcases. It is also explained the valet’s toothache was a thyroid condition in order to add more emotion to the movie. Mrs. Hubbard was stabbed with the murder weapon instead of her just finding it in her sponge bag. And lastly, all 12 suspects stabbed Ratchett at the same time.

There are also a few scenes added to the movie to provide more action. In one scene, MacQueen runs from Poirot and leads him down unstable stairs because he fears he has figured him out. He confesses to stealing money from Ratchett but Doctor Arbuthnot vouches for his alibi. An altered scene in the movie pertains to Mary and Poirot, in which he asks her instead of Bouc for help in answering 10 of his most difficult questions about the case. One last scene added is a fight between Poirot and Arbuthnot. Poirot accuses Mary of killing Ratchett and her knight in shining armor comes to defend her. Arbuthnot shoots Poirot in the arm and Bouc has to save him.

The ending of the book is the last, most significant difference between the movie and the book. Poirot still proposes the same two solutions as in the book, with just a few alterations in the second solution. He states Princess Dragomiroff was Daisy’s godmother, MacQueen’s father tried the maid involved in the Armstrong case who killed herself, and Pierre Michel was the brother of the maid. In the book, he allows M. Bouc to decide what he wants to tell the cops, stating he is sympathetic toward the killers. However, in the movie, it is much more dramatic. Poirot states he cannot live with the injustices that have taken place and proceeds to place a gun on the table in front of the conspirators. He tells them they will have to kill him to keep him silent. The action escalates as Mrs. Hubbard picks up the gun and pulls the trigger on herself. The gun turns out to be unloaded and Poirot decides to “live with the imbalance” and tell the police it was a lone assassin who escaped. The movie ends with Poirot being called away to another case in Egypt, probably referring to another famous mystery created by Agatha Christie.

Overall, the movie follows the basic story line and plot, with just some added details. The most significant change is the amount of violence added to the movie. Almost every man possesses a gun, whereas in the book, Ratchett is the only man to have a gun and it is only for self defense. Also multiple fights take place and the character of the timid and protective Count is warped into a violent and aggressive man. To have a successful movie nowadays there must be action, love, and violence, all three of which take place in Murder on the Orient Express.